Monday, May 27, 2013

Contemplative Monday

The following is taken from: 'Heart Advice, Weekly Quotes From Pema Chodron'

WE'RE IN THE SAME PLACE


"I try to practice what I preach; I'm not always that good at it, 
but I really do try.


The other night, I was getting hard-hearted, closed-minded,


and fundamentalist about somebody else, 
and I remembered this expression


that you can never hate somebody if you stand in their shoes.


I was angry at him because he was holding such a rigid view.


In that instant I was able to put myself in his shoes and I realized,


"I'm just as riled up, and self-righteous and closed-minded
about this as he is. We're in exactly the same place."


And I saw that the more I held on to my view, the more polarized


we would become, and the more we'd be just mirror images of
one another----


two people with closed minds and hard hearts who both think


they're right, screaming at each other. 

It changed me when I saw it from his side,


and I was able to see my own aggression and ridiculousness."



Related Posts with Thumbnails